Door for freight cars



Nov. 5, 1929. EL'FOSS DOOR FOR FREIGHT CARS Filed Jan. 22. 192' Fig: 1.

INVENTOR Edmund Foss BY W ATTORNEY 7 Patented Nov. 5, i929 rice mvmmm EDMUND FOSS, orisnarrnn, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR or'oNn-rnrnn T MAX 'VOLL AND ONE-THIRD ro FRANK r. i-iorKrNs, orn on SEATTLE, wAsnINe'roN noon roe FREIGHT, 'cAns,

Application filed January 22, 1927. Serial No. 162,823.

' .I n operating freight 'cars in the winter time, :and particularly those which carry live stock, it has been found that the slidingdoor of ordinary construction to be found therein, I

:5 often becomes ooun'd to the car by the freezing ofwater or :other liquids which percolate 7 between the gfloori-o'r body of the car and the lowei -edge oflthe door, with the result that it becomes necessary, even in new cars, to pry the doo'r open, and, in addition to the extra work 'in'volved and time consumed, injury is sometimes caused'to the door or car.

To'fdo "away with"thisobjectionable feature and in't'he interests of facility of operation and economy, I provide, as the objects of myinvention I it First, a car doorhavingnot only a sliding longitudinal movement relative to the car, buta lateral movement 'as'well, and whereby I the'door may he readily-made free of any such obstruction; second, means for achieving this result which 'zcan be applied to :a car door of usual type, and-thereby convert it into my 'improved door at comparatively small expense and, third a freight car door "so exceedingly simple 'in rconstruction which, notwithstanding-its enhanced utility, may be 7 producedat a low cost.

Other objects may appear as the description of the invention progresses, In the accompanying drawing 7 Figure 1 is a side elevation of the door mounted on a freight 'car and in locked position; 1 M h I f '-Fig. 2, a horizontal section drawn on the line 2-;2, of Fig.1; j j 4 Fig."3, an enlarged detail view showing p ortion-of. the door broken away, one of the 40 r i v door fixtures are mounted, and a side of the car broken away, all-being.in-cross section;

.a enter the car broken away, a bracket se jjambs of the door on which certain of the with the door for securing the same in closed position;

Fig. 5, an enlarged detail view of similar portions of the door'and car located on the side oppositely of the first-named portions, illustratinga locking-hook projecting from the adjacent lower corner of the door, vand a funnel-like recess in which itsfree end is disposed, said end being located so as to permit lateral movement of the 'hock in the 're- 00 cess; and, Y I

Fig. 6, a vertical section throughthe center of said recess, indicating in cross section the free end'of the hook, as located therein when in locked position. I

Referring more particularly to the drawing, 1 designates the side of a freight car of usual construction, 2 a sill dispose-d thereon, 3 the door jambs and 3 the lintel. The jambs extend outwardly from the side ofthe 7.0 door, and top and bottom portions are provided, which, in connection with the jambs, form a frame around thedoor opening there in,-having its members disposed in the same plane, and on which the door is placedi The body of the door 4, the roller hangers, generally designated as 5 and the railand sup porting elements therefor, denotedgenerally as 6, which afiord a longitudinal sliding movement for'the door, and the metallic band 7, protecting the upper edge of the door, are of usual construction and constitute no part of this invention.

A pair of brackets 10, secured to one of said jambs, pivotally support a vertically extending rod 11, having adjacent each end a locking-arm 12'to prevent lateral movement of the door, the upper one of which operates against a metallic plate 13, secured to the door, and the lower one against a metallic band-14, fastened to and-projecting from the lower edge of the door. 7

A locking-hasp 15, extending from said "rod, is provided with a transverse slot 16,

having centrally thereof a circular opening '95 17 r and an upstanding apertured projection 18,-the purpose of which opening and projection will presently appear. 'A plate 19,

the door, said bolts, as it maybe notedin Fig. 4, also serving to secure at the rear of the door and opposite said'plate, a housing denoted as 20. Another housing 21 extends through the door, andis disposed between theplate 19 and the first-named housing, the

'said plate and housings affording means is circular in crosssection and ofa diameter conformable to and rotatable cula'r opening in-the hasp. apertured to rotatably receive within the cirthat portion V of the shank only which is of smaller diameter and denoted as 23, thus limiting the longitudinal movement of the shankwithin the housings and said shoulderto an exterior con tactwith said plate. A seal 27 is secured in place through the openingsin the handle and the upstanding projection 18 on the hasp.

This door, through the roller hangers 5, is hung on the rail 6, and derives its sliding longitudinal movementfsolely from these instrumentalities, the locking means just described bei'ngdesigned to limit its movement both longitudinally and laterally from one side. When itis desiredto thuslock the'door at said side, the handle is disposed in a horizontal position, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4., and-the rod llturned so'as to bring said hasp thereover and in contact with theplate 19, the locking-arms 12 then assuming the positions against the door shown in Fig. 1. The shoulder 26, rotatable as it is within theopening 17 in the hasp,

permits the handle to assume a vertical position, at thesame time preventing any lonof the slot 16, and the spring 24 exerting pressure on the handle, keeps it in said position. The door, hung as it is, is subject gitudin'al movement of the door on account also toa lateral movement, andthe means 7 just referred to are obviously adapted,when in closed position, ment atthe side of the'door on hichthey operate. 1 T V When the door is thus closed, and to avoid any such lateral movement on the other side of the door, the band 14: carries an integral.

locking-hook 30 having its free terminal 31 disposed in a funnel like recess 32. Said recess consists of a metallic housing, of the form illustrated, secured within-the adj acent' door jamb. A bore-like opening 83, communicating with the inner end of said recess and havmg anoutlet at the other side of the jamb,

permits the recess to be-easily cleaned-of snow or any extraneous matter which might become lodged therein.

ply suflicient, 1n cooperationiwith theother While in the The plate 19 is' to prevent any such move- It is contemplated "that a S1I1glQlOCklI1ghOOk,-LS described, will be amlocking means, to hold the door against latera-l movement when in closed position. present and preferred embodi-V ment of the invention the hook is shown as being integral with the band 14, it may be mounted on the door as a. separate part, as illustrated at 34', Fig.1, and if deemed desirable to provide the door with additional and similar locking means onsaid side, a funnel-like recess-of the same construction 'de scribed may be provided in said'jamb for the locking-hook connected with themember 84, thus giving the door a plurality of locking connections thereat. In operating the door, when it is disposed as shown in Fig. 1,'a reversal. of the cycle of 7 operation'heretofore described will release 7 said hasp and arms, and upon the door being moved slightly in a longitudinal direction, the free end of the hook will leave the inner end of the recess andassume a, position with in that portion of the recess which is more flared,as indicated in Fig. 5. Said hook, now having a lateral play in the recess, will permit the door,in view-.ofthe manner in which e0 it is hung, to be moved, through the handle, laterally of thecar and 'thusbe freed of any obstruction which might bind the lower-edge of the doorl The door may then, as isevident, be completely openedby'moving-the same longitudinall through the roller hangers" and rail provided. Whenthe door is moved to closed position it contacts 'withthe front of the jamb in which the funneLlike recess is located and the hook takes its position therein, when the hasp and the arms may be turned in place andv the 'door closed as before mentioned. r

' To those skilled in the art, it will be seen that this device maybe made applicable to an ordinary freight car, as no special :con struction in the car is required,'and but slight alterations are necessary for itto receive and; retain the parts. I

Iclaim: w '1 V 1. In a freightcar provided withla door thereon having top "susp'ension'means and av longitudinal and a lateral'movement relative to the car, means for locking one side ofthej door against longitudinal and lateral move- I15 ment, a locking-hook projecting from the other side of the door, and a recessed section in a j amb of the door adapted to house the free end of the hook and permit a lateral movement of the door when said meansare released. a 1

2.In a'freight car door} constructionprovided with top. suspension means, means for locking the dooron one side, comprising a 'ecting from one side .of

locking-hook pro 7 125 the door,-and a funnel-like recess operatively l disposed for housing the hook, and whereby the door may be shifted laterally'without re-. leasing the hook from said recess. 1

j 3. In a freight car door construction pro- 130 vided with top suspension means, means for locking the door on one side, and means for locking the door on the other side, comprising a locking-hook and a keeper for the hook, whereby, When the first-named locking means is released and the door is moved slightly in a. longitudinal direction, the door may be shifted laterally without disengaging the locking-hook from the keeper.

EDMUND FOSS. 

